Law Enforcement Improvement Act (Unpassed)
Drafted by: Wolfmanne (P-CP) Spelling, punctuation and grammar corrected (as made compulsory by the SPSGEA) by: New Waterford (LDP) Co-sponsored by: The Republic of Lanos (P-CP), Quirina (NCP), New Sapienta (P-CP), New Zephua (CPP) Byzantium Imperial (NIFP), Rumostan (CMP) Preamble This bill attempts to rectify the unnecessary bureaucracy as established by the Policing and Law Enforcement Act, the National Security Act and the Judicial Act, by restructuring law enforcement and the judicial system in order to prevent terrorism, organised crime and general petty crime. In addition, the judicial system needs to be rectified to allow for more flexibility within it and for law enforcement to be able to carry out its investigations more efficiently. Finally, this bill attempts to regulate government surveillance, recognising its necessity but ensuring that there are limitations imposed on it. Improvement of Law Enforcement in Aurentina 1a. Due to the role of a 'national police' being fulfilled by the Gendarmerie and the existence of the various local constabularies, this act abolishes the National Police Force. 1b. Assets and budgets are to be redistributed to the Local Constabularies and the Gendarmerie, with the decision resting upon a committee of civil servants, police officers, gendarmes and public prosecutors on whom to distribute it to. 1c. The manpower of the National Police Force is to be absorbed primarily by the local constabularies, but based upon roles and responsibilities, a number may be recruited into the Gendarmerie. However, due to the military status of the Aurentine National Gendarmerie, they may refuse to be recruited into the Aurentine National Gendarmerie. 1d. The Public Safety Commission, the oversight agency of the National Police Force, is to be absorbed into the Independent Police Internal Affairs Agency. 1e. The Aurentine Police Federation is to be formed as the national association for police officers that all police officers may register into. It's responsibility is to ensure that fair pay, allowances, hours of duty, annual leave, pensions and other conditions of service are granted by the Ministry of Justice. 1f. The Aurentine National Gendarmerie is to have joint oversight by the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence, due to roles that cross the responsibilities of the mandates of the three, and it shall also be considered a branch of the Commonwealth Armed Forces. 1g. All local constabularies are required to maintain a Criminal Investigation Department, a division under which all plain clothes detectives work under, a Tactical Firearms Unit, a division under which armed special weapons and tactics officer come under, and a Criminal Intelligence Bureau, the division under which all intelligence analysts and forward intelligence teams belong to. Any other branches maintained may be opened or closed at the discretion of the Minister of the Justice, the local government or the local constabulary. 1h. The National Agency for the Prevention of Serious Organised Crime (NAPSOC) is hereby formed under the Ministry of Justice to provide a central headquarters for the co-ordination of all anti-mob activities and shall be mandated to consist of people transferred, with the consent of those people, from both the various Criminal Intelligence Bureaus, the Criminal Investigation Departments, the Tactical Firearms Unit and other Officers that NAPSOC deems necessary to recruit, in addition to detectives, intelligence officers and firearms specialists from the Gendarmerie. Their role shall either be superseded by the establishment of a security agency or by the establishment of a national crime agency to co-ordinate nationwide counter-terrorist, anti-mob, economic and white-collar crime. 1j. The Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for providing the required amount of gendarmes to support each local constabulary, based upon crime statistics recorded in the area, which shall be required to be recorded by the Ministry of Justice once-a-year, the population density of the area (rural areas shall be prioritised), how devastating the effects would be if a serious incident, whether man-made or national disaster, was to occur and the amount of constables actively maintained. It shall be clarified that Gendarmes are permitted to undertake more front-line roles rather than acting in the traditional support role and they shall be permitted to do things such as accompanying and supporting frontline patrolmen. Restructuring of the Judicial System in Aurentina 2a. Public Prosecutors shall have the power to grant warrants to Police Officers upon request by the leading police officer of a case or at his personal discretion. A solid reason that can be backed up by evidence is required before the warrant can be issued. Examples of reasons to issue a warrant include the prevention of a witness, suspect or defendant from fleeing, from committing a (or another) crime or from destroying true evidence or creating false evidence, however all of these need to be backed up by evidence. 2b. Precautionary measures, as established by the Judicial Act, are to be abolished and replaced with the following warrants: *(a) Prohibition to leave the country - Anti-Emigration Warrant *(b) Duty to present oneself to the nearest police station on given days - Duty Warrant *© Expulsion from one's family house - House Expulsion Warrant *(d) Restraining orders - Restraining Warrant *(e) Prohibition or duty to dwell in a given place - Restriction Warrant *(f) House arrest - House Arrest Warrant *(g) Provisional arrest - Arrest Warrant 2c. People who believe that a warrant has been unfairly issued against them have the right to appeal this to a Judge in a Court of Assize. The Judge may waver the warrant and issue a fine of up to £200 to the Prosecution Office that is responsible. 2c. In order to ensure the fair defence of an individual who has requested an attorney whilst in custody or under interrogation by a Public Prosecutor, the Ministry of Justice is mandated to establish a number of Public Defence Offices to operate within the same jurisdiction as a Prosecution Office. Public Defenders shall be employed by the state and are required to have passed the Aurentine Bar Examination in addition to a civil service examination. 2d. Public Defenders shall not have the same powers as Public Prosecutors, but it is recommended that Public Prosecutors and Public Defenders maintain communication and that the Public Prosecutor also informs the Public Defender of any action that he may take, such as the issuing of a warrant. 2e. An individual may opt to have an Attorney from the private sector represent him and if so, then a Public Defender is not required to be appointed. However, it is recommended that 2d is also applied to private sector Attorneys. Regarding Court Professions 3a. Public Prosecutors are to be regarded as Attorneys from herein and future Public Prosecutors must have passed the Aurentine Bar Examination. Public Prosecutors currently employed by the Commonwealth Prosecution Service are to be recognised as Attorneys upon the passing of this bill. 3b. The Public Prosecution Practice Course is to be restructured to become a civil service examination that is taken upon the competition of the Aurentine Bar Examination. It may only last for a maximum of 1 year. 3c. Paralegals are to be formally recognised as a lawful occupation and Paralegals are to be licensed by the Aurentine Bar Association. 3d. Paralegals are to be defined as paraprofessionals who have the required standards, to be defined by the Aurentine Bar Association, to assist Attorneys and to provide legal assistance, the extent of which to be defined by the Aurentine Bar Association. However, under no circumstance may they represent a client in a court of law. 3d. The College of Public Prosecutors is formally abolished and the membership is to be transferred to the Aurentine Bar Association, but this bill allows the Commonwealth Prosecution Service to establish an association for themselves once again if they so wish to. Surveillance in Aurentina 4a. Private properties are permitted to install and maintain CCTV systems; however, they must affirm that their CCTV recordings may be used by law enforcement and a court of law as evidence. 4b. Any electronic surveillance, including lawful interceptions and computer surveillance, that is carried out in the Aurentine Commonwealth, requires a Surveillance Warrant. The same rules regarding warrants applies to this. 4c. If the person against whom the Surveillance Warrant is being issued is unaware of this warrant, then it requires approval of a three-Judge panel in a Court of Assize. The person will be represented by a Public Defender, who may not inform the person against whom the warrant is being issued about the warrant, whilst the Public Prosecutor is required to argue the reasons for the warrant being issued. 4d. All telecommunications companies are required to co-operate with law enforcement and the CPS in regards to electronic surveillance and may not block or hinder the lawful actions of actions being performed by agents carrying out the Surveillance Warrant. 4e. If the person has been arrested and made a suspect in a case due to evidence gathered from the Surveillance Warrant, then they are to be informed upon arrival in custody that he was arrested due to evidence gathered from a Surveillance Warrant. The person reserves the right to appeal against it, similar to other warrants. 4f. It is required that all public and private bodies to clearly post signs visible to all persons before entering an area under surveillance. Personal home surveillance systems are exempt. The sign must contain the following information: *The fact that video surveillance is being conducted in the vicinity. *Whether images are being monitored live, or recorded, or both. *The purpose(s) of the surveillance *The name of the organization(s) responsible for the video surveillance scheme. *The title and contact information for the person in the organization who is responsible for personal information protection. This should include a business phone number for a timely response to immediate queries. *The title of the specific privacy or personal information protection legislation that governs the handling of personal information in this situation. *Contact information for the office of the relevant privacy commissioner. 4g. Public property can only install CCTV upon the approval of a representative body within local governance, who may either approve, disapprove or regulate it's usage. Exceptions may be made by the Ministry of Justice, who may freely install CCTV systems on any public property with as long as they provide a legitimate need that can be backed up with evidence.